As soon as I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the regular turning pages of Robin's book. The archeologist was sitting at a table in the woman's quarters, a cup of coffee already pressed against her right hand. She seemed so absorbed by her book, like always, that I was almost sorry to disturb her when I sat down.
"Good morning Nami," she said with a smile.
I couldn't help but smile in return. "'Morning Robin!" When she saw me stretch she smiled more and turned another page before telling me to hurry up and get dressed. She told me that Sanji was already cooking which didn't surprise me at all. He was usually one of the first up especially since we all got back together. After putting on a white sleeveless top that displayed a generous amount of cleavage and jean shorts, I followed my fellow comrade outside the room.
Most of the crew was already awake and full of energy. Luffy and Chopper were playing tag on the deck with Usopp occasionally dropping in to spice things up a little bit. Franky was fixing the rudder Luffy damaged the day before and Zoro was of course sleeping in a corner. Then the door to the kitchen opened and our dear cook came out.
"Oh Nami-swan, you're up! Did you sleep well? How are you feeling today? Do you want me to make you something special?" His eyes turned to hearts and I sighed.
"I'm fine, Sanji-kun, thanks."
He then moved to the side and extended his arm to us and bowed. "My dear ladies, breakfast is ready." Robin and I went in cheerfully and Sanji yelled for the others "Food's ready morons!" Brook was already inside and greeted us with his usual question involving underwear and I simply yelled no. Everyone settled down, even our current guests which were no other than Law, Kinnemon and his son Momonosuke who insisted on eating with me. I didn't object even when Sanji, Brook and the samurai protested.
I was happy to see everyone cheerful so early. Well it was usually like that but we had just left Punk Hazard and dealt with that pet dude who captured Caesar. It was nice to see the crew as joyful as before. I wondered for a moment where our prisoner was but Robin assured me he was safely held below deck.
It was somewhere between Luffy's fourth attempt to steal Zoro's food and Sanji's angry yells that something weird happened. The Log Pose started pointing in a different direction than Dressarosa. It pointed to every member of the crew in turns, spinning wildly. Momo then shook my arm and I snapped back to reality. "What's wrong?" he asked. Sitting next to me he was looking from my face to my half lifted spoon. After briefly looking at him I checked the Log Pose again but it seemed perfectly normal and back on the right course. Maybe it was just my imagination…
"Nothing." I tried to smile reassuringly and it was enough to fool the kid but Sanji looked at me with raised eyebrows. My smile soon melted his heart and he asked me if I needed more milk or pancakes. I was pretty sure Robin noticed my hesitation but she showed no sign of it.
Once breakfast was over, I rose from my chair. "Since we've been quite busy lately and we need time to fix the rudder, I think we can stay put for a few hours before raising anchor. What do you say guys?" Everyone agreed and it was decided when Luffy yelled loudly and ran out of the room, a dozen pancakes in his mouth.
"Are you going to play with me?" Momo asked, clutching my hand.
"Not now." I patted him on the head. "I intent on drawing maps until we sail, before my navigation skills are required but I promise we'll play later, alright?" He seemed sad but he nodded and we all left the kitchen.
As I was making my way to the cartography room, the tangerine trees caught my eye and I came to them. It was such a long time since I last ate Bellemere's tangerines that I plucked one and started taking the skin off when Luffy called me. Because of the stupid thing he wanted to show me, I didn't pay attention to the fruit, I didn't even see it looked different than the others, that the skin wasn't as smooth and that strange flame-like decoration seemed to have been carved on the exterior. When the captain saw me eating a tangerine he tried to catch one but I slammed my fist on his hand and forbade him for the hundredth time to touch it. Luckily, he didn't push it, he didn't even complain because Usopp got his attention with a new toy he just invented.
I almost spit out the first piece of fruit. It tasted really weird, not at all like Bellemere's usual tangerines. I looked at it carefully but it didn't seem either different or rotten. My taste was probably just a little bit messed up because of what I had for breakfast so I kept on eating. Suddenly I shivered as if a breeze had just passed me by. But the wind stayed the same. Making my way back to the upper deck, I looked at the sky. The clouds seemed as peaceful as before, the sun was shining and nothing seemed to be about to disturb such a nice weather.
I rubbed my arms and felt something wet on my hands. Looking down I saw small snowflakes on my skin. I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down. It was probably just my imagination. When I opened my eyes, the snowflakes were gone and I wasn't so cold anymore but the uneasy feeling that something was wrong was still clutching at my chest.
A movement in the water then caught my attention on my left and I approached the barrier painted in white. I was pretty sure I had seen a rabbit in the water. Could it be a sea lapahn? Or maybe it was a weird fish, anything could happen on the Grand Line, especially in the New World. I was so focused on looking at the waves that I didn't even realize how cold my hands were becoming and that frost started to spread on the barrier from the place where I was touching it.
I leaned forward, placing all my weight on my arms and hands, clawing at the barrier's edge, rising on tiptoes. I kept on looking at the waves, searching for I didn't know what when I felt myself falling forward. Just as I was about to regain my balance by pushing myself back I slipped. The fact that I had one knee on the barrier didn't help and I fell straight into the water.
It wasn't cold or hot, it was simply wet. I started swimming or at least tried to because something felt weird. My body didn't move properly as if it had forgotten how to swim. The speed of my movements wasn't enough to keep me afloat and my head sank under the surface after a couple of seconds. I didn't even have time to yell for help. I had no idea whatsoever what the hell was going on. The only thing that kept circling in my mind was fear. Fear at the realization that I was sinking.
I loved water. I loved the sea. I loved swimming. And I've always been frustrated at Devil Fruit users because I had to save their necks dozens of times. I couldn't believe it was happening to me. I was drowning.
The others heard my splash because a few moments later an afro appeared above the barrier at the place where I fell. Brook was holding a cup of tea and his face was expressionless as always. His jaws moved though and the next second the big silhouette of Franky appeared too. I could see them watching me or at least the place where I fell where waves were rushed. I couldn't hear them and was sinking more every second that passed but I could imagine what they were probably saying.
I've always been an excellent swimmer and it happened that when I just wanted a break, I'd swim around the Sunny for a while, even dive. I wasn't afraid of doing that when the crew was on deck; I knew they'd help me if anything happened. But for the next minute or so, they had no way of knowing what I was about to do. It would take some time for them to realize I wasn't coming up and I was afraid I didn't have that time.
I desperately tried to swim. I focused my mind on that simple movement, keeping my mouth shut to prevent the air from escaping, keeping my eyes open in any case. But even when I tried to do as precise movements as possible, my body was already getting numb. I could feel my energy slipping away just like the time I had battled Kalifa, the soap-woman. The more I sank the smaller their faces got and my mind started drifting away.
I focused my gaze on Brook and his black afro but my mind immediately reminded me of all the great moments I had shared with the skeleton as if it wanted me to see my life flash before my eyes. I remembered the first time we met on his ghost ship, how scared out of my mind I was and how rude and perverse I found him when he asked if he could see my panties. Then I remembered how he had helped me out on the fishmen island after our reunion when that invisible guy had caught my legs and I couldn't move. I remembered all his skull jokes and all the time I got mad at him, most of them for no real reason at all.
Then my eyes fell on Franky and his sturdy build, his round robotic shoulders and his blue hair he had put in a ponytail today. How I didn't trust him at first when we met and how I was mad at him for everything he did before we became friends. Especially when he beat Usopp up and stole our money. I also remembered when we both got frozen in the shark submarine by those bounty hunters between icebergs. But the most recent memory was when we switched body because of Law and I ended up in his. I think that so far it was the weirdest experience I had since I joined the Strawhats.
Law and Kinnemon also came to see what was happening and some sentences were exchanged but I could only hear the ringing in my ears as my weight was dragging me down. Momo leaned on the railing, his feet leaving the grassy deck of the Sunny and he pointed in my direction with a big smile. He was probably wondering if I was catching fishes. All of their faces weren't anxious at all. But then again, why would they? I was an excellent swimmer, I was supposed to be one of the crew to save the others' ass in that kind of situation and then make fun of them because of that huge weakness.
Usopp's face was the next to appear right near Franky. Out of all of us, he was probably the one that changed the most. He became so strong during those two years. We all did, but the results I think were most seen with him. I remembered meeting that little liar of ours, how he tried to protect his island against Kuro. How I faked his death in front of Arlong to save him and save my reputation among the fishmen pirates as well. He was one of the four who saved me that day, who finally freed me for good. I've often been stuck with him, we got along quite well actually and we were so scared of things at times. I remembered when we played dead in from of the giant Broggy on Little Garden, how he wasn't afraid for once of all those bugs on Jaya, how interested he was by shells on Skypiea. He got struck by Enel to save me and I had to protect him and Sanji afterwards from those Skypiean priests. But he came to save me from Enel with Sanji, he could have died a lot of times but he still tried to save me. Even on Foxy's ship when we had to cross that fence and he got caught instead of me.
Then everything that happened on Water 7. How we rented the yagaras together, got the money, lost it too. I remembered being so furious at him until I found him half dead in one of the streets. The only thing I could do to help him was go get the others. I was so weak. All that happened after with the Merry Go and when he left the crew for a while made me cry a lot. And then we got chased by zombies together with Chopper. How much we had ran on that island to save our skins. He was also the first I met in Sabaondy after our separation when he took out the fake Luffy. But above all he was the one who offered me a way of becoming stronger. With the Clima Tact he built for me I was finally able to defend myself and I'd never forget that.
Still drowning, I detached my eyes of the crew and looked at the Log Pose. It pointed again in a weird direction, it pointed at the Sunny, slightly raised like it wanted to point the deck. My gaze went back to the ship as a little bit of air unfortunately escaped my lips. The ocean pressure and that weird effect was making my head hurt. I couldn't move anymore, so I only lifted up my head to see the faces of my crewmates who all seemed to have be intrigued by my fall.
Chopper didn't seem anxious too, he asked something to the others but from their answer didn't make him panic. If they were waiting for me to turn into a mermaid, they'd be damn disappointed. The doctor was another person that saved me more than once, he managed to cure me when no one else could. He cured my kestia infection on Drum island and I could still remember his curiosity towards pirates. I remembered how my perfume in Alabasta disturbed him and how he didn't dare interrupt my map drawing even during a storm. After Skypiea when we landed in that Marine stronghold G8, I helped him out as a nurse. We also both fled and barely escaped the Aqua Laguna in Water 7, saving Luffy and Zoro in the process.
I remembered being so concerned about him when he lost control of his transformation and became a true monster during his fight with CP9. That time I was scared but I was scared for him. And in Thriller Bark we got attacked and pursued by zombies, ghosts and an invisible pervert. He saved me so many times when the others couldn't and just like with Franky's shipwright skills, my navigation skills or Sanji's cooking skills, he was vital to the crew because he was the doctor.
When Robin appeared things started to change. She stayed calm and probably said something very negative and depressing that made the others wonder. I got along with her pretty quickly because she was the only other woman on board. So we naturally bonded. She was there for me as an older sister and helped me out when men wouldn't understand. I remembered our first encounter when she was still working for Crocodile. And then when she won back the ship from Zenny that I lost during chess so miserably. In Skypiea she and Zoro saved me in that freaking jungle more times than I could count. I remembered my heart being torn to pieces when the Puffing Tom left the Blue Station in Water 7 and I didn't make it in time to stop her. How happy I was when she was back with us!
Things finally started to get moving on deck as the three remaining crew members appeared. Surprisingly enough, Zoro was the first one, then Luffy and Sanji. The Log Pose still pointed at them and I felt my eyes closing on their own. I couldn' move anymore, all my energy had been drained out. Have I truly become a Devil Fruit user because of that weird tangerine? How could I have not seen the difference? And how that fruit was there in the first place? Is that what Luffy or Robin feel every time they fell in the sea? But I quickly chased all those questions away and forced my eyelids to stay up as well as my head. If I was about to die, I wanted their faces to be the last things I saw.
Zoro's bored and scary face was the first my gaze caught. He made me so mad sometimes with his screwed sense of direction and miraculous capacity to sleep through anything. I remembered how he carried Luffy's cage fleeing from Buggy although he was wounded. How I helped his friends Yosaku and Johnny, how I cut the ropes binding him in Arlong Park but he didn't listen to me and wrecked havoc among the fishmen. If I could still move I would smile thinking about his loan in Loguetown and how I used that to blackmail him afterwards. The drinking contest in Whiskey Peak also came back to my mind even with my consciousness slipping away. How we got stuck in the wax on Little Garden with Vivi, how he stood guard over me when Luffy when to see the winter island when I was sick.
When he defeated Mr. One and carried me after my victory over Miss Doublefinger although he was way more injured than me. How he got beat up in that bar on Jaya and I couldn't do a thing about it. He even got worried about me when that giant snake swallowed me in Skypiea and he saved me from Monet…
Then I saw the captain's face. I was the first one in the crew to meet him on those little boats when we both escaped Alvida's ship, he with Coby and I with a treasure. He didn't pay attention to me that time and I was pretty sure he didn't even remember it. But I remembered how shocked he was when I burned my hands to save him, how he saved me from Kuro's right hand and taught me the meaning of the word nakama. He didn't even hold it against me when I stole the Going Merry. All the while I was struggling with Arlong when he came; he kept having faith in me.
I thought he'd drive me mad someday. With his stupid actions and simple mind, all the crew had to take care of him otherwise we wouldn't have made it very far. But he always seemed to arrive at the right moment and do the right thing, erasing the word impossible from the Strawhats' dictionary. I remembered how he broke my first Log Pose and how he tried to cheer me up when I was sick. With Sanji, he brought me up all the way of that mountain to cure me and fought those deadly lapahns.
In skypiea he got so jealous I was handling the Weaver better than him. And he tried to save me from Enel. We even rode the falling Giant Jack to save the angels' island! Then I also saved him from the Kairouseki net in G8. I guess I would have been sensible to those nets hadn't I been drowning… How he carried me on the roofs of Water 7 when we were accused of wounding Icebarg-san. How mad I got at him when I found him stuck between those buildings right before the Aqua Laguna hit us. And he always had a knack for inviting strange people to join the crew.
Luffy was anxious. As I was sinking helplessly I could read the fear on his face as it was becoming more and more distant. I didn't know how deep I was but it didn't matter, I couldn't move, I was finished. Luffy stretched his arm to grab me but as soon as it entered the water it slowed down and didn't make it even halfway to me.
Someone else had the brilliant idea to jump to get me. It was Sanji. As my last memories where starting to fade, my eyelids slowly dropped and I fell on my back, my head struggling to stay up, my gaze wavering on the approaching silhouette. He had always been a perfect gentleman with me, even more than with Robin. He was always ready and happy to be of any service even if he was acting that way with all women. He lend me his jacket on Little Garden, he always used the freshest ingredients for my meals, he cried his eyes out when I was sick and didn't hesitate one second to accompany Luffy to the mountain.
As Mr. Prince, he saved us from the cage in Crocodile's den and was ready to buy that expensive paper for my maps. He never dropped my shopping bags and carried as much as he could for me. With Usopp, he saved me from Enel and was so pleased to hold me at the Marine stronghold G8 on the Weaver. Even that dumb love letter that was with the baby Den Den Mushi in Water 7 proved how much he cared for me. When he got beaten by Kalifa, I started to admire his chivalry and was even more grateful when he saved me from that beast Absalom on Thriller Bark. I guess that even though it truly pissed me off he touched my own body when Law made us switch; he took good care of it, which I didn't do with his own.
I looked one last time at the Log Pose and thought I saw all the Strawhats dancing inside it. My eyes closed as Sanji was approaching and the last thing I saw was the fear in his eyes that determination couldn't conceal. His blonde hair swam around his face and his curly eyebrow I always found so intriguing but never told. Darkness engulfed me as my lungs were filled with seawater and my senses were leaving my body.
His touch brought me back but not entirely. I still couldn't move, couldn't even open my eyes but the feeling of his strong arm wrapped around my waist reassured me. Maybe it wasn't over after all…
I couldn't hear him, he didn't even talk but his thoughts were as clear to me as the unreachable sun high above us. He was asking me, no begging me to hold on. For the crew, for Luffy, for him. He wasn't giving up on me and he wanted me to do the same. He was swimming fast but I couldn't really feel it, darkness having spread too far in my mind. Nojiko's face flashed in my mind and I think that, in the last seconds we spent underwater, I smiled. In my mind at least.
We suddenly broke the surface and I heard Sanji inhale deeply. He placed my head in the crook of his neck and grabbed something. When I heard Robin announce her attack, I understood she grew arms to pull him up. We shot in the sky and Sanji's free hand quickly found its way under my legs while the other held my head and shoulder. He gracefully landed on the deck and I heard hurried footsteps all around us.
The darkness receded a bit, allowing me to understand what they were saying. Most of the people surrounding me were anxious, I heard Usopp running like a madman all around until Zoro punched him. As Sanji was gently laying me down on my back, I heard Chopper distinctive hooves noises. "She's not breathing!" said the cook in a desperate voice, having trouble catching his breath. Someone in the direction of Chopper started pressing my chest in regular and quick movements, counting under his breath. I realized our doctor had transformed into his human form and was giving me CPR.
A few questions were asked with no one to answer them like did I jump or fall, was it an attempt at suicide or simply an accident, why wasn't I coming up and had I any chance of making it. But when silence greeted those questions no one dared speak again in order not to disturb Chopper.
Again and again he pressed on my chest and blew air in my mouth but my eyes remained closed. Occasionally he begged me to come back and sometimes Luffy and Momo joined him. Franky and Usopp were weeping.
And suddenly I felt a pain in my chest. All my senses came back at once in a crazy internal storm. My eyes shot open as I rolled to the side, spitting all the water from my lungs. Sanji gently held me up, allowing me to rest while I breathed again. Finally I turned to see my friends and their faces that relieve had washed of fear and tears. A weak smile crept on my lips and I looked at the Log Pose. It started to point in the direction of Dressarosa again.